Even our fundamental rights have flaws: V.P. Singh

Vishwanath Pratap Singh 50, has encountered rough weather ever since he took over the Uttar Pradesh chief ministership in June 1980. Moradabad, Aligarh, Behmai and Dehuli are names that will always blot his copybook. But the killing of 10 Jatav Harijans in Sadhupur on December 30 seemed to come at a particularly inauspicious time for Singh.

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Chaitanya Kalbag

October 22, 2013

ISSUE DATE: January 31, 1982

UPDATED: July 8, 2014 16:25 IST

V.P Singh:

Vishwanath Pratap Singh 50, has encountered rough weather ever since he took over the Uttar Pradesh chief ministership in June 1980. Moradabad, Aligarh, Behmai and Dehuli are names that will always blot his copybook. But the killing of 10 Jatav Harijans in Sadhupur on December 30 seemed to come at a particularly inauspicious time for Singh. That very day Mrs Gandhi had, in Lucknow, given Singh's administration a clean chit and a pat on the back for "successfully" carrying out the vow Singh took on November 24 to resign within a month if the law and order situation did not improve. It was in these circumstances that Singh agreed to meet INDIA today for an exclusive interview on January 3 - four days after the Sadhupur massacre.

The interview began in Singh's Lucknow residence late at night after a Cabinet meeting, and ended nearly two hours later when Singh remembered that two ministers were waiting in the anteroom to see him. Seemingly indefatigable; ( "I always go to bed and get up on the same day") very frank and outgoing, and obviously a man who does his homework and prepares his arguments in advance, Singh chose to speak at length with Correspondent Chaitanya Kalbag initially off the record before getting down to specific questions. Excerpts:

Q. What would you like to say about the Sadhupur massacre?A. It is clear there was no old enmity in Sadhupur, no loot, nor any sexual molestation. There was obviously some other motive. The killers wanted to hit something else: the Government, and the Congress(I). Because our anti-dacdity drive had been very effective. The killers wanted to shatter my government's credibility and wean Harijan voters away from the Congress(I).

Q. Who do you feel is responsible for the massacre?A. My own feeling is that it was Anar Singh; perhaps he was retaliating against the pressure on his gang. We had information about his presence in the area.

Q. Then you do not subscribe to the Opposition's conspiracy theory?A. How can I say? I have heard that Anar Singh is close to certain opposition leaders. But even if it is a conspiracy then we have to fight it, not fall into the conspirators' design.

Q. Are you considering any major cabinet or bureaucratic changes after Sadhupur?A. No major changes. We may suspend one or two thana in charges. After all, bhai, I had given this very machine a certificate only one week earlier!

Q. Are you giving yourself any more deadlines?A. No, but within a month you will see results.

Q. Your critics say that you have offered to resign too often.A. That is nonsense. The press has multiplied things. I offered to resign only twice: once after Moradabad, once after Dehuli, and the latter was conditional. I did not want the party's interests damaged, I wanted its option to choose another leader to remain open.

Q. Almost every politician, either ruling party or opposition, seems to be linked to some dacoit gang or the other.A. Only in the major dacoit-infested areas, and that too much more in the case of the Opposition. I think politicians resort to dacoits because they can ensure delivery of votes in a particular area. I think this linkage is not unlike the politician-Mafia links in urban USA.

Q. There are allegations that many Congress(I) ministers and legislators have criminal histories. There is one hijacker...A. If the Janata regime could have a man who had derailed 53 trains as a Central minister, what is odd about a hijacker becoming a legislator?

Q. Considering the large number of people killed in encounters with police, particularly during the last month, don't you think there would be many fake dacoit encounters ?A. Only three or four false encounters have been detected and the concerned policemen are being prosecuted for murder. I am fully aware that this machine can run amuck and am constantly monitoring every encounter death.Q. The consensus seems to be that your home minister is singularly incompetent and that her only credential is being a relative of the prime minister.A. How can she be incompetent? The maximum number of dacoits eliminated has been during her tenure.Q. The police seem to prefer killing dacoits to arresting them.A. That is not true. The police always kill in self-defence. But there is something insufficient in our laws. Out of 38,000 pending cases over 34,000 criminals have been granted bail. Our legal system allows easy bail. For the social structure in the dacoit areas there have to be special laws.Q. But wouldn't special laws amount to a licence to kill?A. Society has to make its choices. Even our fundamental rights have flaws. We have to pay a price.

Q. What about the group within your party that is trying to topple you'!A. There is no such dissident group. My tenure has been heavenly compared to the warlord situation in the past.

Q. Everybody says law and order is deteriorating, but your statistics say it is improving.A. It is bad only in Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah and Farrukhabad districts. But these are only four out of 57 districts. What are four districts for me are a state for you. Abstractions like this play havoc.

Q. The fake encounters allegation seems to gain weight from the fact that there have been no police casualties during the last month.A. If there are casualties then the people say the police are incompetent. There have been many police casualties during 1981.Q. No major dacoit gangs have been affected by your month-long drive.A. No major dacoit leaders have been killed or captured, but they have all lost men, and their strength depends on their numbers. Out of 19 major gangs 10 have been wiped out during 1981.Q. The common opinion about you seems to be that you are a good man, but too good to be a good chief minister.A. I may project a good image to the public, but the executive knows it cannot get away with nonsense. I have always been uncompromising, I am not beholden to any businessman.

I-do not entertain any sijarish in vigilance cases. In December 1980. I blocked all transfers. Nobody can approach me and commit hanky-panky. 1 cut off electricity to Hindalco and Modi. A softy can't do all these things. And tell me, which recent chief minister has dropped four ministers?

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